Massachusetts

NEW YORK (AP) ― After dozens of best sellers, novelist Danielle Steel still has words to spare: She’s starting a blog.

“It’s like a letter to a friend, and fun to be able share something and say, ‘Gee I did this,”‘ says Steel, 61, whose run of hits includes three this year alone: “Honor Thyself,” “Rogue” and “A Good Woman.”

In a recent telephone interview from her home in San Francisco, Steel said she expects to launch her blog, www.daniellesteel.net, on Thursday, to post entries once a week, or more often “if I get excited about something.”

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

(Read the full post about ‘Words Of Steel: Best-Selling Author Starting Blog’…)

LONDON (AP) ― Led Zeppelin may reunite without their lead singer Robert Plant, according to a BBC report.

The group’s bassist John Paul Jones said he and his fellow band members would look for new singers to replace Plant.

“We want to do it. It’s sounding great and we want to get and get out there,” he told a BBC’s radio program in an interview broadcast Monday. “It’s got to be right. There’s no point in just finding another Robert.”

Led Zeppelin’s spokesman Chris Goodman declined to comment Wednesday on plans for a possible reunion.

Plant joined the rest of the band for a one-time concert in London’s cavernous O2 arena last December. (Read the full post about ‘Led Zeppelin May Reunite Without Lead Singer’…)

NEW YORK (AP) ― An author who claims Jerry Seinfeld’s wife plagiarized her cookbook says she wasn’t amused by jokes the comedian made last year on late-night television.

In federal court papers filed Tuesday explaining her position for a December hearing, Missy Chase Lapine said her 7-year-old daughter was upset after Seinfeld joked on David Letterman’s show that people with three names — James Earl Ray and Mark David Chapman, for instance — turned out to be assassins.

Lapine said she “never felt so frightened and vulnerable” as when her daughter came home from school “and asked, ‘Mom, what is an assassin?”‘

In a lawsuit filed last year, Lapine claimed Jessica Seinfeld got ideas for her cookbook, “Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food,” from Lapine’s book “The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals.”

The Seinfelds’ attorney said in a statement Wednesday: “As a comedian, Jerry has a right under the First Amendment to tell jokes. (Read the full post about ‘Cookbook Author Not Amused By Seinfeld’s Jokes’…)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Keanu Reeves and the paparazzo who’s suing him took turns on the witness stand Tuesday, offering different accounts of an incident the photographer said left him seriously injured.

Reeves told jurors in the civil case that he moved his Porsche forward slowly to try to get the paparazzo, Alison Silva, to move out of his way. Reeves had just finished visiting a relative in Rancho Palos Verdes in March 2007 and had been followed by Silva from the Sunset Strip.

Reeves emphatically told jurors he did not hit Silva with his bumper.

Silva testified the opposite, saying the bumper of Reeves’ Porsche hit his knee and sent him reeling backward. (Read the full post about ‘Reeves Takes Stand, Says He Didn’t Hit Paparazzo’…)

NEW YORK (AP) ― Leonardo DiCaprio is bringing out the big guns to get out the vote.

Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg and Justin Timberlake are among the celebrities starring in a new public service announcement produced by the actor, who also appears in the spot.

The video shows the stars struggling to grasp the concept of using reverse psychology to get young people into voting booths.

Required by director Spielberg to say “don’t vote,” Roberts remarks, “That doesn’t make sense.” Cruise and Smith complain to each other, while Timberlake jokes, “I can do anything. I was in a boy band, OK?”

Finally, Ford says, “You know what? (Read the full post about ‘Cruise, Smith, Spielberg Say ‘Don’t Vote’’…)

BEVERLY (WBZ) ― Beverly High School was put under lockdown Wednesday after a student found five .22-caliber bullets in a bathroom, police and school officials said.

State and local police were called to the school shortly before 11 a.m. and the school was locked down. Students were required to stay in their classrooms, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the building.

Eight teams of police and school personnel conducted a thorough search of the school, including lockers and backpacks. No firearms or additional ammunition were found, police said.
 
Two paintball guns were found during the search, police said. (Read the full post about ‘Beverly High School Locked Down’…)

BOSTON (WBZ) ― A day after her arrest on federal corruption charges, State Senator Dianne Wilkerson said in a statement she will continue her re-election campaign.

Here is the complete text:

“I would like the voters of the 2nd Suffolk Senate District to know that I am staying the course of my campaign for re-election on November 4. Not only does this represent the biggest challenge in my personal and political life, but it will test to the limit the notion of innocent until proven guilty.

While there is great curiosity about the particulars of my case I am not at liberty to discuss them for obvious reasons. (Read the full post about ‘Wilkerson Continues Campaign Despite Arrest’…)

BOSTON (WBZ) ― State Senator Dianne Wilkerson is free on bail, facing federal corruption charges; an elected official accused of selling her State House services. So what happens now for the woman who has been a fixture in Massachusetts politics for 15 years?

THE CHARGES

During an 18 month undercover investigation, federal agents say Wilkerson was caught on video taking some of the $23,000 in bribes from undercover agents posing as businessmen.

Closer Look: The Bribery Charges Outlined

WHAT’S NEXT - THE CRIMINAL CASE

At her first federal court appearance Tuesday, bail was set at $50,000. (Read the full post about ‘What’s Next For State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson’…)

NEW YORK (AP) ― New England defensive tackle Vince Wilfork will be fined but not suspended by the NFL after meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell about a hit on Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The Patriots nose tackle met Tuesday with Goodell and the commissioner decided to forgo a possible suspension. That’s according to a person familiar with the case who asked for anonymity because there has been no official announcement.

The NFL declined comment, noting that fines and suspensions normally are announced on Fridays.

Wilfork was summoned before Goodell after the Broncos claimed tape of New England’s 41-7 win Oct. (Read the full post about ‘Wilfork To Be Fined For Hit To Cutler’s Head’…)

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Celebrities and athletes are doing quite a bit to get out the vote these days.

Kevin Garnett is sending the message with his feet.

According to ESPN.com’s Paul Lukas, KG will wear a special pair of Adidas sneakers on Election Day with the phrase “Embrace Change Vote ‘08″ stamped on the side.

The Celtics are playing the Rockets that night and Houston’s Tracy McGrady will reportedly wear a pair that says “Change Is Needed Vote ‘08″

Did you see the sneakers Garnett wore in the season opener Tuesday night?

According to the Boston Globe, those Adidas Team Signature KG Commanders sell for $1,017. (Read the full post about ‘Garnett To Promote The Vote With Sneakers’…)